Ayurvedic formulation fights radiation

Triphala, the popular ‘three herbs’ formulation of India’s
Ayurvedic system of medicine, provides protective effect against X-ray radiation,
a joint study by Japanese and Bangladeshi researchers has found1.

The researchers fed triphala to mice for three weeks and
exposed them to X-ray radiation (6.4 Gray). More than 80% of the mice not treated with triphala
died but 50% of those treated survived. In a separate in vitro experiment, the researchers found that HeLa cells – a type
of cultured human cells – treated with triphala had a higher survival rate than
untreated cells when exposed to X-rays.

Triphala is known as a bowel tonic, and as a formulation supporting
healthy respiratory, cardiovascular, urinary, and nervous systems. But the
chemicals responsible for its beneficial effects are largely unidentified due
to a lack of suitable assay systems. The researchers used a simple bio-assay
system with human cells to understand the molecular basis for the beneficial
effects of triphala and to identify the useful chemicals in its constituent
herbs.

It is likely that the antioxidant activity of triphala plays
a role in its protective actions against X-ray radiation, the researchers say. Marthandan
Valiathan, who heads India’s task force on Ayurvedic biology, said attempts to
isolate the effective compounds of triphala have remained a challenge.